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RTNakano Lab
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The lab decodes, in the language of molecules, the conversation between plants and the microbes of their roots.
AboutAbout the lab
Listening in on the conversation between plants and microbes at the molecular level.
The RTNakano Lab studies how plants communicate with the diverse microbes in natural environments, and how that conversation affects the way plants live.
Various microbes colonize plant roots, and this community is called the "microbiota."
Because the microbiota greatly affects plant growth, stress tolerance, and disease resistance, it can even be considered a part of the plant in natural environments.
Using plant and microbial genetics, multi-omics, and cell biology, the lab examines how the root microbiota influences the coordination of growth and immunity.
Key terms
- Microbiota
- A community of microbes living in a particular place. It also forms on the surface and inside of plant roots
- Specialized metabolites
- Chemical compounds that organisms produce in species-specific ways. Also called secondary metabolites
- Transcriptome
- The full set of RNAs being read out in a cell, studied together. It shows which genes are active
NewsLab news
The research group discovered that nicotine in tobacco plays a role in shaping the rhizosphere microbiota
A co-authored paper on the microbiota of wasabi rhizomes was published in Microbes and Environments
A student won a poster award at the PMRN2024 online symposium
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify the molecular exchanges between plant roots and the microbes that inhabit them. It investigates how these exchanges determine root growth and immunity, as well as the structure and function of the microbiota.
*Illustrative imageMicrobes That Support Growth and Defense
Excessive immune activity hampers plant growth. The lab seeks commensal bacteria in the rhizosphere that interfere with this "growth-defense trade-off" and help plants grow even while immunity remains activated, and studies the molecular mechanisms behind their effects.
*Illustrative imageRoot-Secreted Compounds and Commensal Bacteria
The lab believes that the conversation between plants and microbes begins with each other's secretions. It focuses on specialized metabolites secreted from roots, in particular glucosinolates in Brassicaceae, nicotine in tobacco, and isoflavonoids in legumes.
*Illustrative imageReading Responses to Microbes
Responses to pathogens are well studied, but responses to commensal microbes are still poorly understood. By comparing transcriptome analyses, the lab identifies genes that respond to microbes regardless of whether they are pathogenic, and studies the transcription factors that regulate them.
*Illustrative imageThe Three-Way Relationship of Plants, Insects, and Microbes
This is a joint study with Yoshitomo Kikuchi of the Hokkaido Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The bean bug Riptortus pedestris, a pest of soybean, lives in symbiosis with the bacterium Burkholderia. The lab studies how diverse forms of symbiosis arise from the three-way interactions mediated by metabolites.
MembersFaculty
The RTNakano Lab consists of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorRyohei Nakano
- Assistant ProfessorTomohisa Shimazaki
VoicesStudent voices
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Chiba LabFaculty of Science, Department of Biological SciencesPlant molecular biologyThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “-Chlorophytum comosum-02” Wildfeuer / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Microbes That Support Growth and Defense: “Medicago italica root nodules 1” Ninjatacoshell / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Root-Secreted Compounds and Commensal Bacteria: “Plant nicotiana tabacum” Jebulon / CC0 (cropped)
- Reading Responses to Microbes: “Müürlooga (Arabidopsis thaliana) lehekarv (trihhoom) 311 0804” Heiti Paves / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- The Three-Way Relationship of Plants, Insects, and Microbes: “Shield bug with large hind legs - 3” KKPCW（Kyu3） / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morphology and Function III Lab): “Arabidopsis thal background” Reo On / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morphology and Function II Lab): “Arabidopsis thal kz1” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yoshida Lab): “Docosahexaenoic-acid-3D-sf” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Chiba Lab): “A thaliana” Safflle / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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